Data base management systems

In conjunction with the development of reliability-based distribution models, a survey of methods for data collection and management used by municipal utilities was undertaken by investigators at The University of Texas at Austin. Also of importance were the methods used to classify failures, for instance, whether they distinguished in their records between a main leak or a main failure; or between a water pump failing due to a power outage versus a motor breakdown. Finally, the survey was to help identify sources of computerized data bases on water distribution system component performance that have been developed and continually maintained. This chapter reports the results. Subjects covered include data collection and management by utilities, database centered approach for design and analysis, water distribution systems analysis package, and others.